Ashley Brown, Kevin Spirtas, Kenita Miller and More Are Part of Makeover Musical Readings

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31 Mar 2014

Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins) stars in a reading of the new musical Makeover, which is presented March 31 and April 1 in Manhattan.

Directed by Nick Demos, Makeover features book and lyrics by Darrah Cloud, music by Kim. D. Sherman and musical direction by Lawrence Yurman. The readings take place March 31 at 7 PM and April 1 at 2 PM at New Dramatists.

Sherman and Cloud previously collaborated on The Boxcar Children, HeartLand and O Pioneers!

According to the creators, "Makeover is the story of Ruth Levine, a WWII war widow, who, with an undaunted sales technique and a vivid imagination, makes herself over into Ruthée LaVie, a fabulously successful cosmetics entrepreneur. In doing so, she discovers who she really is.

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Freely inspired by the lives of Mary Kay and Estée Lauder, it begins in 1945 on V-J Day and ends in 1970, encompassing the era of Positive Thinking: a time when salesmen traveled the country chanting the mantras of Dale Carnegie in order to succeed in competitive Postwar America, and most women went back home to be housewives.

As Makeover tracks the life of Ruthée LaVie, it also tracks the history of popular music and the Women’s Movement. The opening number is a high energy Boogie-Woogie celebration of the end of WWII and quickly morphs into Jazz, Swing, Doo-wop and Rock-n-Roll. The changing styles identify the passage of time, and the fast-paced narrative is inspired by the lavish stage shows used by companies to encourage their reps to great heights in Direct Sales."